Essex Police Annual Report 2022/2023

Record investment and officer numbers revealed in Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner 2022/23 Annual Report.

A record number of officers taking the county force to its largest size in its 184 year history is revealed in the Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) 2022/23 Annual Report, published 17th November 2023. The report covers the financial year of April 2022 to March 2023.

After the PFCC secured record investment for the service, Essex Police is now the largest it has ever been with 3,755 officers now in the force.

The report also outlines how crime has fallen after a multi-year growth programme was completed in March 2023.

PFCC Roger Hirst said: “Thanks to the extra annual investment of £86m over the last seven years in Essex Police, the Chief Constable has been able to recruit an additional 905 officers. Extra staff and equipment have also been funded so officers are supported while being out and about in our communities.

“This investment is making a difference. Between April 2022 and March 2023 we saw a downward trend in crime figures with a year-on-year reduction of 1.3 per cent.

“Overall crime is now below the level seen leading up to the pandemic with a 2.4 per cent fall between 2019/2020 and 2022/23. This has continued throughout 2023 with September 2023 figures showing all crime is down by 6.7 per cent and anti-social behaviour is down by 35.2 per cent.

“The increase in officers is also providing a significant boost to neighbourhood policing, with the focus on driving down crime in our communities.”

The fostering of strong and productive partnerships with councils, voluntary services and communities has enabled Essex Police to break cycles of crime such as Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls.

In 2022/23 the cumulation of the hard work was starting to show with a 9.1 per cent reduction in the number of Domestic Abuse related cases compared to the year before.

During the year, the PFCC successfully secured £1.2m from the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund to make Essex streets safer, especially for women and girls. Together with local match funding from Councils and wider partners over £2m has been invested in projects across Essex where local communities have told us they feel unsafe.

The report also highlights the sustained effort in the fight against drug driven violence and county lines. The thirty extra officers recruited in 2021/22 started to make a big impact during 2022/23 with drug related homicides reducing by seven to three in the 12 months to March 2023.

Essex Police also conducted 25.3 per cent more Organised Crime Group disruptions for the 12 months to March 2023 compared to the 12 months to March 2022. This continues a significant year on year increase in our activity to tackle the hardened criminals that fuel drug driven crime in our county.

Activity in 2022/23 was against the backdrop of the need to respond to a large number of Just Stop Oil protestors, disrupting multiple petrochemical sites in Essex, through the commission of criminal offences.

 

This was sustained and threatened fuel supply to Essex and the wider south-east region. The PFCC and the Chief Constable worked together to seek financial assistance from the Home Office, which resulted in £4m of funding being received for Essex to part cover the costs of our policing response.

 

The key points from the Annual Report include:

• Essex Police the biggest it has ever been with an establishment of 3,755 officers, 2,427 police staff, 102, police community support officers and a strength of 327 special constables.
• Essex saw a 31.4 per cent decrease in ASB incidents and has been chosen as one of 10 forces to receive Home Office investment in Hotspot policing.
• There was a 9.1 per cent decrease (2,815 fewer) in the number of recorded domestic abuse offences for the 12 months to March 2023 compared to the 12 months to March 2022.
• There was a 6.3 percent decrease in the number of sexual offences committed against females.
• In the 12 months to March 2023 over £5m in funding was allocated to help support victims of crime.
• 4 per cent decrease in the number of fraud offences related to business crime.

 

The report is available for anyone to read online here (PFCC Police annual report).